Nein Nein Nie Nie Mmmm...

We thought we could mostly fill this update with pictures. So here we go. Reesey is really getting the hang of walking, although he is yet to spontaneously do it himself:

Erika's days are filled with being a Mommy to all her dolls, and picking which one gets to go for walks outside. She recently made a baby carrier for one of them (out of a belt):

The kids on the tram:

A couple of days ago, Jodi put Reese in the tub and started up the water, and checked to make sure it was a good temperature a couple of times. He started to get a little too docile followed shortly thereafter by crying, so Jodi did another check of the water. Apparently, it was a little too warm, as you might be able to see from the rouge pants he seems to be wearing. Don't worry, the damage wasn't permanent and it looks a little worse than it was, but note to self: you can't check the water enough.

The kiddies also played at a little beach nearby (aka sewer drainage). Actually it is a nice area for them just across the street; it has a water pump at the top and the water runs down a little water fall into a sandy area. The parks are quite different here in Germany, and this is an example of one. The courtyards between apartment buildings in Rieselfeld generally have these little parks in them (there are a lot within walking distance):

Next time, we will document our day trip we took to Switzerland, stay tuned. I tried to emulate German custom in this picture, har har.

Jodi and Jeff

Tour

All right. Now for the long awaited moment, a guided tour of our place - built with our bare hands - courtesy Jodi. So, here is Erika's room...

Next, the master suite:

The living room:

The kitchen:

Wintergarten:

Reese's room:

can:

Well there you have it. Bye now.

Jodi and Jeff

Colmar

Well, it's been a while, oops. I think we have pretty much told all about our first couple of weeks and we can move on to more recent stuff. Speaking of recent stuff, about a month ago (recent?) we took a little trip to Colmar, France. It is about a 30 min train ride and 45 min bus ride which tours through little towns, including one completely surrounded by a moat and city wall. It was really neat. Erika really enjoyed the seat belts in the bus. When we decided to get off the bus (we were a little unsure which stop) we chatted for a little bit and then realized we forgot our bag on the bus. So Jodi ran after it and banged on the front door to get them to stop. The bus driver was really nice about it. At least we remembered the kids. Colmar was great, and if Jodi had her way, I would be transferring to France ASAP. The architecture is completely different than Freiburg. Now that we think about, Freiburg is gothic-y, post-war-trying-to-look-ancient, and very orderly/put-together (great efforts considering most of the city was ruined by Allied bombing accidents in WWII), whereas Colmar had a rustic and romantic feel to it. I think this will be a definate sidetrip for anyone that comes to visit. We checked in at the tourist place, and then walked the town, and ate delicious pastries - something that is unattainable in Germany (good desserts that is). Some of the highlights were: seeing a big-rear bird (the biggest swan I have ever seen, don't trust the movie), hunting for bathrooms (a common theme of any outing with Erika), a large carousel, a beautiful modern park, a gondola ride in petit Venise, Erika's Paris dress, and Jodi enjoying old doors. During our hunt for the bathroom, we found some crazy public toilets. You have to pay 30 cents to open the bomb-shelter-style facility, and the door magically slides open to display your beautiful purchase. I almost vomited. It was dripping wet inside and smelt like an outhouse. The craziest part is that the toilet didn't have a 'hole' where the excrement gets flushed down (see pictures). I know, I am still figuring it out. At first, I thought it must spray the entire interior after a deposit because it claims to self-clean. I could just picture the gushing water and flying feces. Jodi thinks she's got it figured out, and if anyone else thinks they have an idea, we are open to suggestions. Erika vetoed the bathroom, and we continued our search. And yes, we came back and paid 30 cents again to take the pictures. I don't think we came across as tourists though. (Yeah right, taking pictures of a bathroom). The gondola ride down the river was probably the highlight, although Reese could have done with a 2 min ride instead of 30. He enjoyed running through the water fountains in the park and giving the swan a drink from his cup. By the way, sorry about the stellar video quality.

Next time: a tour of our 'finished', humble abode.

Jodi and Jeff